Four youngsters graduate as 'Huffaz' at Masjid Meraj

As the holy month of Ramadan nears its end this week, Masjid Meraj in Plainfield held a ceremony to mark the completion of the recitation of the Quran during special night prayers called as 'Taraveeh'. The occasion also celebrated the completion of memorization of the Quran by four local youngsters under the guidance of their teachers Hafiz Osama Gaaba and Hafiz Muhammed Ishaq.

Syed Mohammed Hussain Shah, son of Syed Zakaria Rafat, Afeefuddin Muhammad, Areebuddin Muhammad, both son's of Aleemuddin Muhammad and Shams ul Haq, son of Raza ul Haq were recognized for their awesome achievement of memorizing the Quran, the Muslim holy scripture. They are now recognized with the title 'Hafiz', plural Huffaz.

Muslims are encouraged to complete the recitation of the Quran and implement its message in their everyday life. During the month of Ramadan, special congregational night prayers are held to assist Muslims in completing the recitation . The prayers are lead by a 'Hafiz', a person who has committed the Quran to memory. Plainfield now has 4 newly minted 'Huffaz', plural of the word 'Hafiz' in our community.

The Quran is divided into 114 chapters with different themes and lengths, known as the surah. Each surah consists of verses called ayat (or ayah). The Quran is 604 pages in length in its most standard Arabic copy, and contains 77,430 words. In order to become a Hafiz, a student has to not only memorize the entire Quran but also know how to properly pronounce the Arabic words.
According to some estimates, there are about 15 million Muslims in the world currently who have memorized the entire Quran.

Allah says in the Quran, chapter 15 verse 9 that He has revealed the Quran and he will protect it. The fact that so many people, of all ages, have memorized the 114 chapters and 77,430 words is a testament to this statement in the Quran.